Plastic pollution lawsuit against Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé to proceed in California

A state judge has ruled that a lawsuit against major food and beverage companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé over the plastic pollution of California’s coastline can move forward.

The lawsuit was brought in early 2020 by Earth Island Institute, an environmental nonprofit, charging Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and seven other consumer goods companies of polluting California waterways with plastic trash and falsely claiming that their packaging is recyclable.

The defendants had requested that the trial be moved to federal court or the courts in their respective jurisdictions. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge V. Raymond Swope ruled that the state has jurisdiction and that the lawsuit can proceed.

According to Sumona Majumdar, Earth Island Institute's general counsel, last week's ruling correctly finds that companies marketing, selling, and profiting from products packaged in plastic in California can also be sued in California for the harm caused by their plastic packaging.

Corporations like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, she continued, cannot be allowed to hide behind their out-of-state status to avoid accountability for their role in California's plastic pollution crisis.